Putin won in nation's minds (Our editorial)

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BY EYNULLA FATULLAYEV

Yesterday, in Moscow, the first meeting of the initiative group of the organising committee for the nomination of Vladimir Putin for the presidency of Russia was held. Putin will participate in the fateful elections not as a representative of the ruling party alone: this time he is playing a new albeit well-deserved historical role as a national leader.

Among the other candidates are the great-power nationalist Zhirinovsky, liberal Yavlinsky, leader of the new Russian protest Navalny, communist leader Zyuganov, heroine of the political-glossy epoch Sobchak and even business-ombudsman Titov... There is an alternative to Putin, Russians have a choice. But the power of the president's authority is so great, and Russian reality is so predictable, that Dame Fortune is not able to break the legendary times for Russia. History cannot follow, as it were, gradually, there is no place for mockery of a resourceful fate.

Putin acts as a self-nominated candidate supported by the whole nation. He is both a ruler and a sovereign, who is ready to unite liberals Kudrin, Gref and Chubais under his wing, but also to provoke sincere love of the old-fashioned communists. Alongside him is Yeltsin's favourite Kiriyenko, and Zyuganov's nominee Glazyev, that is, all those who reject the values of the political-glossy epoch of 2000s, the organic part of his glorious reign.

Power loses not in squares, but in the heads of the nation. And Russians do not imagine their future without Putin. Moreover, life without Putin is uncertainty in the future. Putin is an absolute winner, for he has captured the minds of his nation. Yesterday, in the ranks of the initiative group of Putin's supporters, the whole cream of the Russian nation was presented: from Govorukhin to a pilot of a Russian fighter in Syria, from Karelin and Rastorguev to Amelchenkova's volunteers...

Putin again goes to power, but this time, as if on the call of a satisfied nation, for which, in the words of Herzen, 'it's no longer a shame to be Russian.' The nation have regained faith in itself, Russians are pleased with the return of the Crimea, victory in Syria, a campaign in Libya, the restoration of the old Russian spirit and the Russian world. We saw such a picture before our eyes.

Nominating Putin for power at the call of the nation is somewhat like the return to power of another national leader, Heydar Aliyev. In the year 1993, which became a terrible bloody dream for us, Heydar Aliyev returned as the leader of the nation to save it. By the way, later on, in 1998, the President of Azerbaijan was nominated for the post of the head of state not from a narrow ruling elite or a party of power, but as the leader of the nation having no alternative. The people are always prudent, smarter and more constant than politicians, the people rarely make mistakes, or more precisely, they almost don't make mistakes in their political choice. Machiavelli explained the correctness of this choice by the fact that nations can contribute to the destiny of fate, but they cannot interfere with them, they can try to resist fate, but they cannot defeat it!

Azerbaijan is not indifferent to the fate of the upcoming elections in Russia, just like the entire fate of this great power. After all, any historical turn or the slightest cataclysm will directly affect the fate of Azerbaijan itself. Our destinies are intertwined not only by historical ties, but also by a single political community, cultural threads and social identity. And it seems, this is forever: so decreed was by the very fate that the people cannot change!

And Vladimir Putin played a grandiose role in opposing the fate of our countries, especially after the tragedy of January 20, 1990, caused by the deployment of Soviet troops in Baku. And this was not a terrible dream, but a bloody reality. And in the soul of the people there was some feeling of resentment. Putin did his best to dispel this bitterness and understatement. The Russian president, one of the first heads of state, visited the Alley of the Fallen for Karabakh, thereby paying tribute to the historical memory of Azerbaijanis.

The historic visit of the 49-year-old young Russian president to Baku to the patriarch of politics, the Caucasus elder Heydar Aliyev laid a completely new foundation for the relations between the two countries. The two leaders needed more than a dozen hours of frank conversation to flip through the history of uneasy, sometimes fragile and contradictory relations between the two countries. And then in the shortest possible time bring the level of these same relations to a strategic partnership.

After the death of Heydar Aliyev there were tears in Putin's eyes, and he uttered a innermost phrase full of great historical evaluation of the personality of one of the leaders of the Soviet empire: 'He was a political giant!' It is unlikely that Putin would say anything like that about someone else...

And Putin was one of the first who supported the democratic transition of power to the successor of Heyadr Aliyev, the new president, Ilham Aliyev. From the very first day, between the two politicians, the highest level of personal trust and mutual understanding has taken shape. The presidents have learned to understand each other from a half-word. It happens rarely in big politics. So it is arranged, but the relations between the new independent states are exclusively personified. They determine the future and strength of the alliance of states.

During his rule, Putin visited Azerbaijan six times. And after his convincing victory in the last elections, Putin made his first visit to the South Caucasus region again to Azerbaijan.

Putin has always been close to Azerbaijan, as they say, both in joy and in trouble. And while for some reason the heads of some states and international organisations were not present at the opening ceremony of the first European games, Putin sat on the platform next to the President of Azerbaijan. And that day in Russia itself they were celebrating the National Holiday!

A year later, the Russian president not only supported Ilham Aliyev's initiative to hold an Azerbaijani-Russian-Iranian trilateral forum, but personally arrived in Baku, making maximum efforts to establish a grand international transport project North-South.

The personal union of the two Presidents Aliyev and Putin is a unique format that guarantees the stability of the regional security system. But the permanently influential pro-Armenian forces in the Russian establishment are trying to split this duo, to break the game, to break the format. But Putin neglects this interference, the Russian president is a staunch supporter of a strategic alliance with Azerbaijan.

And a clear example of a sincere attitude towards Azerbaijan was the recent decision of Putin to withdraw the candidacy of a new Russian ambassador to Baku, Georgy Zuev. The Russian Foreign Ministry literally palmed off Zuev on the Kremlin. Zuev is a relative of Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan. However, according to some information, having understood the true state of affairs, Putin, once again showing his inherent wisdom, balance and strategic thinking, took the side not of Lavrov's department, but the interests of our countries. Common sense is always a virtue.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the new presidential term of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will contribute to the further strengthening of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan!